Why Ovarian Cancer Rates Are Falling

Saturday

Jun 15, 2013 at 12:01 AMJun 15, 2013 at 2:23 PM

New clues emerge about the "silent killer."

The drop in ovarian cancer rates since 2002, around the time many women began heeding warnings about hormone replacement therapy (HRT), may offer another clue to the mystery that often surrounds the deadly disease. The incidence of ovarian cancer had been steadily declining by about 1 percent a year since 1995, but a new study using census data has determined that after 2002—the same year the Women's Health Initiative issued a report that linked HRT to breast cancer and other health problems—rates began declining by more than 2 percent every year. In 2012, 15,500 women died of ovarian cancer, so a 2 percent drop is significant, researchers noted.
The study, published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, noted that there may not be a direct correlation between hormone replacement therapy and ovarian cancer, but that the association provides more information for researchers as they continue to investigate a disease that is often difficult to diagnose and treat.
But wait—there's more good news about ovarian cancer! Read it here.
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